We are not surprised by the finding that 87 percent of Section 8 voucher holders are segregated in areas that are more than 50 percent minority concentrated. Our office, the Enhanced Section 8 Outreach Program (ESOP), administers the vouchers held by the two tenants highlighted in the article.

First, we reject as baseless the claims that landlords renting to voucher holders are smothered in federal and state regulations. That is exaggerated and simply not true. Second, in our search for housing, we have found widespread discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders, based on race as much as voucher status. Unfortunately, this otherwise fine article implies that passage of a source-of-income law would remedy this problem and open up housing to Section 8 voucher holders throughout the county. In our view, source-of-income legislation without adequate enforcement mechanisms built in would be toothless, representing a Pyrrhic victory more than a substantive one.

We call upon both Westchester County and the state to pass a source-of-income law that provides for substantial fines and attorneys fees for the prevailing party. In the alternative, a county or state enforcement unit armed with fines and attorneys fees should be created to represent families that claim they have been denied housing because of their source of income.

Beverly L. Bell and Jerrold M. Levy

Yonkers

The writers are director and general counsel for Enhanced Section 8 Outreach.